Rufous-winged woodpecker facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rufous-winged woodpecker
Adult male
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Piciformes
Family:	Picidae
Genus:	Piculus
Species:	P. simplex
Binomial name
Piculus simplex (Salvin, 1870)
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The rufous-winged woodpecker (Piculus simplex) is a type of bird from the woodpecker family. You can find it in countries like Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama.

About the Rufous-winged Woodpecker

This woodpecker was first named Chloronerpes simplex. Later, it was placed in the Piculus group. It is related to other woodpeckers like the stripe-cheeked woodpecker.

What Does It Look Like?

The rufous-winged woodpecker is about 18 cm (7 in) long. It weighs between 51 and 55 grams (1.8 to 1.9 oz).

Male and Female Differences

Males and females look similar, but their heads are different.

• Male woodpeckers have red on their forehead, the back of their neck, and a lot on their cheeks. The rest of their face is brownish-green.
• Female woodpeckers have mostly brownish-olive heads. They only have red on the back of their neck.

Body Colors

Both male and female adults have bronze-green feathers on their upper body. Their flight feathers are mostly cinnamon-rufous with dark olive parts. Their tail is blackish.

Their throat and upper chest are olive-green. The upper chest has pale yellow spots. The rest of their underside is pale yellow with dark olive stripes.

Beak, Eyes, and Legs

Their beak is short and blackish, with a lighter gray lower part. Their eyes can be pale bluish, yellowish, or white. Their legs are olive to grayish.

Young Woodpeckers

Young woodpeckers are not as bright in color. They are grayer and greener. Their throat and chest have greenish-yellow spots. The stripes on their underside are not even. Young males only have red from the back of their head to their neck.

Where Do They Live?

The rufous-winged woodpecker lives in eastern Honduras, through Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and into western Panama.

Their Home

They prefer to live in humid forests. Sometimes, they visit large trees in open areas nearby. They live at different heights depending on the side of the mountains. On the Caribbean side, they live up to 750 meters (2,460 ft) high. On the Pacific side, they can be found up to 900 meters (2,950 ft) high.

How They Behave

Staying in One Place

The rufous-winged woodpecker stays in the same area all year round. It does not migrate.

What They Eat

This woodpecker usually looks for food alone. Sometimes, you might see them in pairs. They might also join groups of different bird species looking for food together. They search for food at all levels of the forest, especially inside the forest. They mostly find food by pecking into wood. Their diet includes ants and beetles (both adult beetles and their young).

Reproduction and Life Cycle

The breeding season for the rufous-winged woodpecker is from February to May. They dig a nest hole in wood that is recently dead or rotten. These nests are usually between 2.5 and 5 meters (8 to 16 ft) above the ground. A female woodpecker lays two to four eggs. We don't know how long the eggs take to hatch or when the young birds leave the nest. We also don't know much about how the parents care for their young.

Sounds They Make

The rufous-winged woodpecker has a loud song. It sounds like "chea, chea, chea, chea" or "heew" notes. They also make drumming sounds in long bursts.

Their Conservation Status

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) says the rufous-winged woodpecker is a species of "Least Concern." This means they are not currently in danger of disappearing. They have a large area where they live. Scientists believe there are at least 50,000 adult birds, but this number might be going down. No major threats have been found for them. They are considered "uncommon to fairly common" and live in two protected areas in Costa Rica.